Ethnicity and Language Proficiency Differences in the Provision of and Intention to Use Prenatal Screening for Down's Syndrome and Congenital Anomalies. A Prospective, Non-selected, Register-Based Study in the Netherlands.

Objective We aimed to conduct an analysis of the associations between the information provision procedure of prenatal screening for Down's syndrome and congenital anomalies and the intention to participate in prenatal screening (PS) of ethnicity groups and Dutch language proficiency groups. Design Using a prospective web-based registration form, we asked counselors (midwives, general practitioners, nurses and gynecologists) to report whether and how they offered information about PS to pregnant women. Duration The study was conducted from 2008 to 2010. Participants We collected data on the characteristics of the women who received an information offer about PS from counselors. Measurements Measures included socio-demographic and language proficiency level (LPL) characteristics, key elements of the provision procedure of PS, and intentional participation in PS. Findings The dataset represents 37% of the total population in the study area. Women with a non-native Dutch background and/or insufficient Dutch LPL received fewer information offers about PS, faced a reduced chance of receiving counseling, and showed lower intentional participation rates for PS. Key Conclusions Women with a non-native Dutch background and/or with an insufficient LPL are underserved in the Dutch PS program. These findings present evidence indicating that the fundamental principle of the Dutch Population Screening Act, namely, equal access to PS for all pregnant women, is not being realized. Implications for Practice Therefore, the study findings are important for national and international healthcare, policy makers and governmental professionals to allow ethnic and LPL-related differences in the provision and intentional uptake of PS.

Comparison of risk calculation approaches in a screening programme for Down syndrome.

In the Netherlands, both the LifeCycle Elipse (LC) and the Astraia software package are used to calculate the risk of having a child with Down syndrome. Therefore, pregnant women can be presented with dissimilar risks. In this study the conformity between these risks before and after harmonization of the screening program and its influence on the performance indicators of the first trimester screening were evaluated. The agreement between combined risks (based on the biochemical parameters PAPP-A and fß-hCG and a nuchal translucency measurement) was expressed as intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)=0.99. Conformity between combined risks was better after harmonization (Cohen's κ=0.75) than before harmonization (Cohen's κ=0.63). For both risk calculation software packages the area under the ROC-curve was 0.84. The database contained 42 Down syndrome cases; based on the odds of being affected given a positive result (OAPR), LC performed slightly better than Astraia before harmonization (17.9 vs. 21.5, respectively). It has been acknowledged that using different software packages could lead to dissimilar risk calculations. In this study the screening performance indicators of two software packages were quite similar. The agreement of the screening performance after harmonization remains to be seen, but is expected to be even higher.

An unwanted pregnancy and language proficiency level are associated with first antenatal visit after the first trimester: Results from a prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: To study the association between the reasons for a 'late' first antenatal visit and the influence of several maternal determinants and practical limitations on the timing of the first antenatal visit. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: Southwest region of The Netherlands, mainly characterised by large urban and suburban areas. PARTICIPANTS: Women receiving information and counselling about prenatal screening between April 2010 and December 2010 were included (n = 9,268). MEASUREMENTS AND FINDINGS: Timing of first antenatal visit, categorised as: 'in time' (<12+0 weeks of gestation), 'late' (≥12-23+6 weeks of gestation) and 'very late' (≥24 weeks of gestation). An unplanned or unwanted pregnancy was the most frequently reported reason for delay of the first antenatal visit (30.7%) especially in Surinamese women (79%), and women younger than 20 years (63%) or older than 40 years (50.0%). Compared to women who timed their first antenatal visit 'in time', women with a delay in their first visit were more often younger than 20 or older than 40 years of age, high order multiparous (P ≥3), with a previous miscarriage, and had an absent Dutch language proficiency level. The latter showed the strongest association with a 'very late' first antenatal visit (OR 4.96, 95%CI 2.45-10.05). KEY CONCLUSIONS: Language proficiency level was highly associated with a delay in the timing of the first antenatal visit. When women timed their first antenatal visit late, having an unplanned or unwanted pregnancy was the most frequently reported reason for this delay. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Findings from this study can be used to inform and develop interventions to improve timely antenatal care use.

Down syndrome screening: imagining the screening test of the future.

Prenatal screening for Down syndrome (DS) is performed by risk calculation based on biochemical and biometric parameters. This way, approximately 75-85% of all DS cases can be detected. A way to improve detection rates is to search for new screening markers. Since the majority of biomarkers used in current DS screening are predominantly produced by the placenta, and the presence of an extra chromosome (as in DS) complicates placental development and function, it is plausible to assume that new potential screening markers may also originate from the placenta. Any alterations in these markers can be attributed to abnormal placental development and function. This article focuses on normal early placental development and function compared with that in DS pregnancies. Using this knowledge, we reason towards candidate biomarkers that may be useful in screening for DS.